Jephthah's Promise

HAVE you ever made a promise and later found it hard to keep?  The man here did, and that is why he is so sad.  The man is a brave judge of Israel named Jeph'thah.

Jeph'thah lives at a time when the Israelites are no longer worshiping Jehovah. The are again doing what is bad. So Jehovah lets the people of Am'mon  hurt them.  The makes the Israelites cry out to Jehovah:  'We have sinned against you. Please save us!'

The people are sorry for the bad things that they have done. They show that they are sorry by worshiping Jehovah again. And so again Jehovah helps them.

Jeph'thah is chosen by the people to fight against the bad Am'mon-ites. Jeph'thah wants very much for Jehovah to help him in the fight. So he promises Jehovah:  'If you will give me victory over the Am'mon-ites, the first person that comes out of my house to meet me when I return from the victor I will give you.'

Next time: Conclusion of Jephthah's Promise

From the jw.org publications